The present invention relates to a testing device for an antenna-incorporated semiconductor device testing device, which is used for testing an antenna-incorporated semiconductor device in a semiconductor test process.
In recent years, use of millimeter-wave-band radio waves in cellphones, vehicular devices, etc. has come to be considered. In the trend toward increase of the frequency of wireless communication, an antenna (e.g., patch antenna) has come to be incorporated in semiconductor devices themselves.
In general, in a test of a semiconductor device, contact pins are brought into contact with power terminals and signal input/output terminals of the semiconductor device so as to be electrically connected thereto, and a good or bad determination is made. In a test of an antenna-incorporated semiconductor device having an antenna function, the whole of a test contactor is placed in an anechoic chamber, a testing antenna is set in the anechoic chamber, and a good or bad determination is made of the antenna function by measuring radio waves emitted from the antenna-incorporated semiconductor device.
FIG. 4 shows a conventional setup for testing an antenna-incorporated semiconductor device. An anechoic chamber 60 is prepared in which inner surfaces of electromagnetic shield plates 61 are provided with radio wave absorbers 62 preventing undesired reflection. The whole of a test contactor 10 having contact pins 11 (also called a “contact probe”) is stored in the anechoic chamber 60, and a testing antenna 70 is set in the anechoic chamber 60. A reception signal of the testing antenna 70 is led out of the anechoic chamber 60 by a testing antenna connection cable 71.
A test target antenna-incorporated semiconductor device 1 has electrical connection terminals 2 which are formed on its one surface that is an electrical connection terminals arrangement surface 1a and an antenna 3 which is formed on its other surface that is an antenna formation surface 1b. The electrical connection terminals 2 include power terminals and signal input/output terminals.
To test whether the electrical characteristics and the antenna function of the antenna-incorporated semiconductor device 1 are satisfactory, the test contactor 10 is mounted and fixed, in advance, on a test board 80 which is connected to a test instrument. The antenna-incorporated semiconductor device 1 is set over the test contactor 10, and a peripheral portion of the antenna-incorporated semiconductor device 1 is pushed down by a semiconductor device pressing mechanism 90. The electrical connection terminals 2 are electrically connected to the contact pins 11 of the test contactor 10, and electrical signals and power of the test instrument are applied to the antenna-incorporated semiconductor device 1. Thereby, radio waves are emitted from the antenna 3. The semiconductor device pressing mechanism 90 has a through-hole 91 in an area that is opposed to the antenna 3 of the antenna-incorporated semiconductor device 1. Thus, the radio waves emitted from the antenna 3 are received by the testing antenna 70 and converted into an electrical signal, and the reception signal is output, via the testing antenna connection cable 71, to the test instrument which is disposed outside. In this manner, good or bad determination on the electrical characteristics and the antenna function of the antenna-incorporated semiconductor device 1 can be made at the same time.
Patent document 1 discloses an example antenna-incorporated semiconductor device and states that there was demand for formation of an antenna on a semiconductor device in the trend toward increase of the frequency of wireless communication.
[Patent document 1] JP-A-2008-131166